Don’t expect the NFL to go back to sixteen regular season games any time soon. The proof that adding an extra regular season game is in the numbers.
According to Front Office Sports, the league generated $4.4 billion in ad revenue for the 2021 season. That is a fourteen percent increase in revenue over the previous season.
More inventory allowed the league to raise prices too. Late buys on NBC’s Sunday Night Football saw a rate increase from $600,00 to $800,000. On average, rates on all networks for a 30-second in-game ad rose by 3%.
Revenue has not been a problem for the NFL for a long time. The league brings in around $10 billion annually from its television deals with Amazon, CBS, Disney, and NBC. The rights to NFL Sunday Ticket are on the block right now and are expected to generate another $2.5 billion when the deal is finalized.
